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EDITORS’ NOTES

Having formed during the winter of 1990, Boston quartet Converge is considered pioneers of metalcore. Their eighth studio album finds them reclaiming their sound — the preceding Axe to Fall was riddled with more guest musicians than a hip-hop album. Opening cut “Aimless Arrow” makes good on its name by throwing fans a curveball with Jacob Bannon trying his hand (or larynx, rather) at melody. But the following “Trespasses” returns the mentally disturbed frontman to his throat-ripping howls and growls with a feral abandon. But things get really interesting with “Sadness Comes Home,” a shape-shifting sock in the clock that opens with a Sabbathesque sludge before erupting like a sonic volcano of hyper-fast fretboard shredding and propulsive, explosive drumming that feel like a thousand fists punching one face. Over this Bannon channels all his inner demons into one ferocious beast doing battle with his own soundtrack. At under two minutes, “Vicious Muse” plays like a stormy tantrum tailor-made for the mosh pit. Conversely, “Coral Blue” stretches out almost five minutes of sludge-infused aural brutality.

All We Love We Leave Behind

EDITORS’ NOTES

Having formed during the winter of 1990, Boston quartet Converge is considered pioneers of metalcore. Their eighth studio album finds them reclaiming their sound — the preceding Axe to Fall was riddled with more guest musicians than a hip-hop album. Opening cut “Aimless Arrow” makes good on its name by throwing fans a curveball with Jacob Bannon trying his hand (or larynx, rather) at melody. But the following “Trespasses” returns the mentally disturbed frontman to his throat-ripping howls and growls with a feral abandon. But things get really interesting with “Sadness Comes Home,” a shape-shifting sock in the clock that opens with a Sabbathesque sludge before erupting like a sonic volcano of hyper-fast fretboard shredding and propulsive, explosive drumming that feel like a thousand fists punching one face. Over this Bannon channels all his inner demons into one ferocious beast doing battle with his own soundtrack. At under two minutes, “Vicious Muse” plays like a stormy tantrum tailor-made for the mosh pit. Conversely, “Coral Blue” stretches out almost five minutes of sludge-infused aural brutality.

TITLE

TIME

Aimless Arrow

2:23

Trespasses

2:43

Tender Abuse

1:25

Sadness Comes Home

3:13

Empty On the Inside

2:29

Sparrow's Fall

1:27

A Glacial Pace

4:25

Vicious Muse

1:52

Veins and Veils

2:32

Coral Blue

4:48

Shame in the Way

1:57

Precipice

1:47

All We Love We Leave Behind

4:07

Predatory Glow

3:22

14 Songs, 38 Minutes

℗ 2012 Epitaph

Ratings and Reviews

4.9 out of 5

30 Ratings

30 Ratings

5 STARS

Nov 16, 2012

Capt. Duke Lacrosse

Fugazi.....The Accused.....Godflesh......if they spawned a child it would be Converge....these guys never get stale....another great album from a great band....love these guys...!!!

5 STARS

Nov 16, 2012

Capt. Duke Lacrosse

Fugazi.....The Accused.....Godflesh......if they spawned a child it would be Converge....these guys never get stale....another great album from a great band....love these guys...!!!

genius

Apr 23, 2014

johnny_metal85

I got this album after seeing their newest video. I love the dirty gritty fender jangley guitar tones that don’t “belong” in metal and Converge do it anyway and it’s so nasty and so angry in a unique way.

heavy as hell. the exact opposite of crab core. excellent band.

genius

Apr 23, 2014

johnny_metal85

I got this album after seeing their newest video. I love the dirty gritty fender jangley guitar tones that don’t “belong” in metal and Converge do it anyway and it’s so nasty and so angry in a unique way.

heavy as hell. the exact opposite of crab core. excellent band.

About Converge

One of the most original and innovative bands to emerge from the punk underground, Converge were formed in the winter of 1990-1991, and after several singles, compilation appearances, and the requisite growing pains, they released their first full-length effort, Halo in a Haystack, in 1994. The Boston-based metalcore and mathcore pioneers were initially comprised of vocalist/visual artist Jacob Bannon, guitarist Kurt Ballou, bassist Jeff Feinburg, and drummer Damon Bellorado, with second guitarist Aaron Dalbec joining in 1994 (he later left in 2001 without being replaced). Over the years, the band also found time to lend out members to various side projects, including Kingdom of the Sun, Old Man Gloom, and Kid Kilowatt (the short-lived band that also included members of Cave In).

Hydra Head issued Caring and Killing in 1996, which gathered tracks released during the band's infancy, followed a year later by Petitioning the Empty Sky, which was released by the independent label Equal Vision. Cave In's Stephen Brodsky replaced bassist Feinburg in 1997 as well, and by the release of 1998's When Forever Comes Crashing, Converge had proved themselves a force to be reckoned with in the hardcore-metal scene. Brodsky left the band that same year and was replaced by bassist Nate Newton; Bellorado likewise exited in 1999 and, soon enough, the band had welcomed drummer Ben Koller into the fray. A split with Japan's Hellchild appeared in 2001 through Death Wish, Inc. (which Bannon co-owned) before Converge's ever-growing reputation among fans and critics was cemented even further with the release of the band's fourth official full-length, the highly acclaimed metal masterpiece Jane Doe.

Converge were by now regarded as one of the most original and innovative bands to emerge from the punk underground. Trudging along, the musicians during that time played over 600 shows with varying success -- their hard work made it possible for them to retain their cult status within the punk underground without the kind of commercial success that has vaulted other punk bands into the middle of alternative rock radio and press. Rare and out of print tracks were next collected for 2003's Unloved and Weeded Out compilation before Converge returned the following year with another studio album, You Fail Me, which marked the band's first for Epitaph. Always reliable and consistently brutal, Bannon, Ballou, Koller, and Newton were back after more rounds of touring by October 2006 with No Heroes, followed three years later by Axe to Fall. The latter album found Converge working collaboratively with members of Cave In, Neurosis, and the Red Chord. In 2012, the band released its eighth studio album, All We Love We Leave Behind. In 2016 the band issued You Fail Me Redux, a reissue of their fifth studio album remixed by Ballou, remastered by Alan Douches, and repackaged by Bannon. A live performance of the entire Jane Doe album was captured at the Dutch Roadburn Festival and released in 2017 as Jane Live. Later that year, Converge released "Under Duress," the first single from their sixth full-length outing, The Dusk Is Us, which arrived in November. ~ Stacia Proefrock